of Reveals and Dreams
by Melodenia
Summary: Arthur walked down the hall, without seeing anyone. "Hallo," he yelled as he started running down different hall ways. "Merlin!" Arthur called, but no answer came. He walked over to the door of Merlin's room and opened it, but it was empty, like the rest of the citadel. Where is everyone? Set between season 3-4 Reveal fic
1. Prolog

I own nothing. Merlin belongs to BBC and the writers.

This is my first fanfiction on , and I don't have a beta reader, so sorry for any grammar mistakes an errors, as english is only my second language.

I hope you enjoy it :)

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The sun shone into the room and started to fill the chamber with heat. Arthur turned around in his sleep, and a beam of light shined onto his face, waking him slowly but surely. He opened his eyes slowly and then sat up straight. Something felt wrong and Arthur couldn't figure what. His sword was on his table like the day before and both doors and windows where closed. Why did it all feel so wrong then? He looked around, and that's when it hit him. Merlin hadn't woken him up yet. It wasn't abnormal for Merlin to be late, but as Arthur looked out of the window, he could see that it was well past noon. Merlin was never THAT late. Well he had been a couple of times, and it never ended well for some reason. Also there was no food on the table and normally the kitchen staff would have noticed that Merlin hadn't picked up the food, and sent another servant with his breakfast or lunch, as it was that time of day.

He got out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe and looked through his clothes. There wasn't much to pick from, since Merlin hadn't brought the clean clothes. What was going on? Arthur picked out a clean white shirt, since his favorite blue one, wasn't there, and a pair a brown breaches. As he pulled on the breaches he could hear his stomach growling, and he decided to find a servant who could bring him some food. On the way over to the door he picked up his sword and fastened it to his belt, before marching out of his chambers. It was very quiet in the corridor, and he could not see a servant anywhere which was abnormal. There is always a servant wandering around the corridors.

Arthur walked down the hall, without seeing anyone. Not even the guards, who should patrol the hallways for any threats.

"Hallo," he yelled as he started running down different hall ways. His first stop was his father's chambers. He wanted to check on the king, to make sure he wasn't harmed, but no one answered as he knocked on the door. Arthur let himself in, to the king's empty chambers.

"Father!" He called, with no answer. He turned around and ran down the halls stopping once or twice, to see if he could find someone, but the corridors and rooms were empty. No servants, no guards, not even the visiting nobles could be seen anywhere. He ran to the physician's chamber hoping beyond hope that Merlin was still there.

The door slammed open as Arthur all but ran through the door, but no faces turned towards him. No shadow of black hair or blue eyes he had grown accustomed to over the last years.

"Merlin?!" Arthur called, but no answer came. He walked over to the door of Merlin's room and opened it, but it was empty, like the rest of the citadel. Arthur backed away from the door, down the stairs and then fell over a chair, which he hadn't seen. The pain in his hip was fierce, and he knew he was awake. But where is everyone?

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All comments are appreciated, both good and bad


	2. Chapter 1

Hi all :)

Because of coming examens I'm not sure how regulary I can post this story, but I will try to keep it at least a week between updates. :)

English isn't my main language, so sorry any mistakes I might do.

I own nothing.

Enjoy

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The day before.

"Hurry up, Merlin, we are already late, as it is. Don't make me throw you in the stocks again." Arthur was standing behind the changing screen, waiting on his shirt, which Merlin had placed somewhere in the room.

"I'm sorry sire, I'm almost done," Merlin sounded out of breath. Arthur could hear his footsteps on the floor, as he hurried over to the changing screen. A pale hand handed over a white shirt.

"Not a moment too soon," Arthur said as he took the shirt from Merlin's hand and looked at it. "What is this? Didn't I tell you the blue shirt?" Arthur said a bit irritated. He looked at the white shirt before walking in front of the changing screen and threw the shirt in the back of Merlin's head. Merlin hurried to catch the shirt behind his back and then turned around and looked at Arthur.

"But the blue one is still wet," he said, as he hurried over to the fire, where the blue shirt laid for drying.

"Then get it dry," Arthur all but yelled, before he turned his back on Merlin and walked over to his desk.

"Yes sire," Merlin said, and there was something in his voice, that Arthur couldn't place. He looked at the old peace treaty he would talk with lord Wolfric about, during the peace talks. A horn was blown in the distance, and Arthur knew that the visiting nobles were sighted.

"Come on, Merlin, lord Wolfric is already here, and I'm not even dressed!" He felt a bit frustrated, and it was at times like this that he wished he had another servant. But then Merlin would do something, which made the prince grateful for his loyalty and friendship, even though he would never admit that.

"Here sire," Merlin said as he walked over to Arthur.

"Finally," Arthur huffed, before putting the shirt on and stormed out of the room, making his way to the courtyard. Merlin looked after him, as he took a deep breath. Arthur had been in a really bad mood today, and he suspected it was Morgana's betrayal and the condition of his father that bothered him. He had those days once in a while, but it was getting better, the more time went after Morgana had tried to take Camelot. He walked over to the chair, and picked up the forgotten white shirt, before he folded it and placed it in the wardrobe. He took the plates from the table and headed to the kitchen, before he joined the rest of the staff in the courtyard, if he was needed.

...

The company had just taken a rest before they would continue on their way to Camelot. A young servant was walking into the forest searching. He had red hair, which was rare where he came from, and was sagely muscled from all the work he had done. He was supposed to meet someone on the way to Camelot, someone who needed his help. He turned around a giant rock and Morgana stood in front of him with a small flacon in her hand. She nodded when she saw him, and they continued on the conversation they started a fortnight ago.

"The potion is finally done, all that needs to be done now, is putting this liquid into the prince's food or drink, and the potion will do the rest." She said with a wicked smile and placed the flacon in the hands of the servant.

"I will do as you ask Morgana. You can count on me." The servant said before he turned around and walked back to the others. They were waiting for him and he quickly helped the other servants packing up, before they continued on their journey to Camelot. He placed the flacon in his jacket and didn't think about his job, before tonight's feast. He needed to be relaxed, so he didn't seem suspicions.

...

Arthur waited with the rest of his counsel, as lord Wolfric's party neared the citadel. He could see a couple of stable boys making the stables ready, for the arriving horses, and he could hear servants run around inside the citadel, and making the last preparations. Merlin of course was nowhere to be seen. He smiled as lord Wolfric stepped out of the carat and stepped down to great him. Lord Wolfric walked over to Arthur and took his hand. The servants of Camelot rushed forward, to help the newcomers with accommodations and chores.

"Prince Arthur, you have grown since I last saw you." Lord Wolfric said as they started walking up the steps. "It saddens me, that your father isn't here to great me." Arthur nodded as he led the way inside.

"Yes, but the King doesn't feel well, so you might not see him at all." Arthur said. Then he saw Merlin walking towards them. "You've had a long journey. My servant Merlin will show you to your chambers." Merlin walked up and looked at Arthur, trying to read him, but the prince just had a blank expression.

"Of course, this way, my lord," Merlin said cheerfully and didn't look directly at him with bowed head. Arthur watched them go, before he walked to the banquet hall to overlook the last preparations.

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So that's chapter one. Hope you enjoyed it

Please review :


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry for the slow update. Have been preparing for my Chinese finals, which is on monday. Wish me luck :D

English is my second language and I don't have a beta, so I'm sorry for the spelling mistakes.

Enjoy. I own nothing

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The night before.

The banquet hall was full of laughter, talk and music. The knights, nobles and royals were having a great time. Even some of the servants enjoyed themselves. Arthur talked with lord Wolfric, not about the peace talks but about everything else. Merlin stood as usual behind Arthur, with a pitcher of wine in his hands, and kept an eye on things.

Everything went as planned. Arthur had held his speech, where he wished the peach between Camelot and Enggard could continue as it had done for the past 15 years. Lord Wolfric had held a speech after that, thanking Camelot for their hospitality and that they had the same wish as Arthur. What none knew was, that a simple servant had a revengeful heart, after losing his 2 brothers to the Pendragon's, on their quest to rid the world of magic.

Michael stood in the back and watched the prince with the intensity of a hawk staring at its prey. He had a pitcher of wine in his hands, and the flacon in his jacket, as he moved up to the main table, where the prince was seated with lord Wolfric. The only obstacle in his plan was the servant behind Arthur. How could he serve the prince, if he had his own servant doing that for him?

Merlin's feet were starting to hurt. Even after years of standing, his feet would hurt like hell during these events. He had been in his toes the whole day, and now he was just standing, waiting for Arthur to need a refill, because there wasn't many to talk to during the feast.

"Merlin!" Merlin turned around and saw Gwaine waving a hand. It didn't seem like the prince needed him at that moment, so why not go over and talk to the knight. As he walked over Lancelot lifted his goblet in greeting, but it was Gwaine that wanted to talk to him.

"Hi Gwaine, do you need anything?" Merlin asked expecting to be send off to get more wine.

" No, no, my friend. I just wanted to see how you were doing." If the smell hadn't told him that Gwaine had had more than enough wine, then his slurred talk was a giveaway.

"Gwaine, I don't think you should have anymore, " Merlin smiled as he moved Gwaine goblet away.

"No mate, there is always room for more ale." Gwaine said with a doped grin.

"Gwaine," Merlin said slowly, making sure he had his friends attention, "this is wine, not ale."

"Oh well, like I always say, there is always room for more wine." Merlin shook his head and looked at the other knights, hoping to get some help. He was preoccupied with the knight, so he didn't see Arthur rise his goblet at the main table.

...

Arthur lifted his goblet to drink some more wine, when he realized that the goblet was empty. He rose his goblet to indicate to Merlin that he needed a refill, but nothing really happened. Arthur looked behind himself, but Merlin wasn't there. Another servant, one Arthur had never seen before approached him, with a pitcher of wine.

"Let me do the honor of refilling your goblet, price Arthur." Arthur suspected the servant to be one of lord Wolfric's, so he nodded in agreement and turned his head, looking for his ridiculous servant.

Michael couldn't have planned it better, as he removed the flacon with the potion from his jacket and poured it into the pitcher quickly, making sure no one saw him. He had seen Arthur's servant move away, and had seen his chance. He hoped the servant would stay away, until the prince had drunk the potion. The gods had blessed him, as Michael got to fill the prince's goblet. He stepped back and moved away from the table, knowing the deed was done. He walked over to the wall beside the doors to the main entrance and waited. He had no idea, of what the potion should do, and as the evening turned into night, he feared that it didn't work, because nothing had happened.

...

Merlin had just convinced Lancelot and Percival to take Gwaine back to his chambers, and what a sight! Merlin couldn't help but laugh, when he saw Gwaine hang in the arms of his friends. It almost looked like he couldn't walk by himself, which Merlin suspected was the truth. He looked around and saw some of the guests had started to leave the banquet, and Merlin hurried over to Arthur, who was still talking to lord Wolfric. He walked up beside Arthur and whispered in his ear.

"Arthur, don't you think it is about time to end the feast. People are leaving and even some of the visiting knights is sleeping on the floor. Might have gotten too much wine." That got Arthur's attention and as he looked around he had to agree with Merlin. Even a knight in a purple cape was sleeping beside on the floor, beside a chair, where he had fallen when he fell asleep. Arthur arose from his chair and got everyone's attention.

"Thank you so much everyone for coming here and celebrate the arrival of lord Wolfric. The peace talks will start as of tomorrow."

Arthur nodded at the visiting Nobel and the people took it as an invitation to leave the feast. Some people left immediately and some, like the sleeping knight, stayed a little bit longer. Arthur bid his good night to lord Wolfric, before he left the banquet hall with Merlin in his heels.

"That went well," Merlin said cheerfully. Arthur nodded, but didn't really like answering. "I think some will have trouble thinking in the morning,"

"Merlin, shut up." Arthur sighed. He felt really tired for some reason. Maybe he had gotten a bit too much wine too? He wasn't sure.

He wouldn't even let Merlin help preparing him for bed. Arthur just fell over on the bed in a deep sleep, even before his head hit the pillow. Merlin sighed and then took boots and jacket of the sleeping prince, before he unlighted the candles and left the sleeping prince, not knowing what happened during the feast.

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Please r&r


	4. Chapter 3

Hi everyone. I am so sorry for this late upload. Finals haven't really been kind to me, and given me very little spare time. Ad to that, that my computer has been hacked, and I had to live without for almost a whole week(I know, chaos right), and that just made my days... -sigh-

Anyway :) Here is another chapter, and I hope you enjoy it.

Same as the other chapters, I suck at English, and don't have a beta reader, so there will be grammar mistakes, which is totally my own ^^

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Chapter 3

Present

Arthur had no idea of what was going on. Was it some kind of joke everyone pulled on him? He couldn't imagine why they would do that, but where else could they have gone?

He pulled himself of the floor and his hip hurt in protest. He didn't think it was serious, but he would certainly get a bruise. And even if it was serious, who would he go to? Gaius wasn't here for God's sake!

Arthur sat down and tried to think, and then he heard Merlin's voice.

"Stop thinking so hard, you might hurt yourself." Arthur looked around, but Merlin was nowhere to be seen.

"Merlin?" He called and walked out if the physician's chambers, but no one was in the hall way either. That's when he realized that he had heard Merlin's voice in his head. Arthur wasn't sure if he had imagined it, or if it was some kind of trick. And honestly he didn't know which one would be the worst case.

He walked down the hallway trying to get to the courtyard. Maybe it was only the citadel that was deserted and there would be people on the streets of Camelot. Every step he took with the right leg, made his hip hurt, but he couldn't stop. He needed to figure out what was going on.

The sun was high in the sky, as Arthur walked out of the citadel, and normally the streets would be full of people, and the noise from the market place could be heard in the courtyard, but there was no noise at all, neither from people nor animals. The battlements were left unprotected and he got a bad sense of déjà vu.

It reminded him of the day where Camelot was infiltrated by the Knights of Medhir, except from now the whole city of Camelot was gone instead of sleeping. He hurried up on the battlements, fearing what he might see, but once again there was nothing. He didn't know how he should feel about that, as he gazed the empty lands around the city. On one side he was happy that there wasn't an army at the gates of Camelot, but now he got a feeling of weariness. What was going on, and why was this happening? He could not figure it out, nor see a plot in this. Who had done this?

Could it be some kind of spell? Of course, what else could it be? A whole kingdom couldn't just disappear into the thin air. He needed to find the sorcerer, so he could break the curse, if he only knew where should start looking. He really wished his clumsy servant of a friend was there to help, even if it was just for moral support. He started to feel the loneliness of the situation. There was no one to talk to, and as he looked to the forest, he feared that it wasn't only the city of Camelot that had suffered from the evil magic.

Suddenly a sound emerged from the courtyard, like someone tripping. Arthur started running down to the courtyard, hoping to find Merlin there, because really no one would be that clumsy in an empty courtyard, but he stopped a few feet from the archway. It might be someone else.

Arthur walked slowly forward and looked into the courtyard, but nothing and no one was there.

"I am starting to lose my mind," he said loudly to himself. He walked through the square and up to the citadel. He continued until he sat at the table in the conference hall, where he was supposed to prepare peace talks wilt lord Wolfric. Instead he now sat alone and confused at the table, with his head in his hands.

Normally when he was hunting a sorcerer, he had something to go by. A person, a smell or something that belonged to the sorcerer. Even Merlin and Gaius was a big help, when it came to fighting off magic, since they almost always knew what caused it and how to break it, but he had nothing to go by. But now he had nothing. No one from the night before, that had seemed suspicions. No Merlin who would stay by his side, no matter how hopeless the quest seemed. No knights he could send out searching. Nothing.

He stood up, as he decided to search the lower town for something, anything. He wanted to figure out, where the noise from earlier came from anyway. He was starting to feel hopeless, because he always had someone by his side, to help him with a thread like this, and now he was alone. He realized how important, not only his knights, but also his best friend, is in a situation like this.

He stepped outside, and it had actually begun raining. Arthur had had other things on his mind and hadn't seen the clouds coming in, or the rain that started pouring down. He thought about getting his chain mail, before he continued, but decided against it, and he stepped into the courtyard and the pouring rain.

The pavement had gotten slippery, and it got even worse when he reached the lower town, since they didn't have stones on the road, so Arthur walked in mud to his ankles, literally. He had to be careful since he had already lost his balance, twice.

People always told him, that there was luck in the number tree, but for Arthur it was bad luck apparently. The third time he lost his balance he actually fell and his elbow went through a wooden box. The impact of his elbow broke the top of the box, and some of his arm got stuck in the wooden box, and the small telltale of pain told Arthur, that he had broken skin on his arm.

Arthur got up and looked down at his right elbow, where the shirt had been torn and the red color of blood, where starting to discolor the white shirt. His elbow hurt, both from the impact and the wounds, and decided to look at the wound before he continued. He started to head back to the citadel, because even though the houses around him were empty, he didn't want to go into them. It didn't feel right to go into someone's house uninvited, no matter if they are home or not. As he neared the courtyard, he heard hooves behind him.

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Please r&r

This story has gotten a bit longer than I first anticipated, (typical me) so there is some holes need to be filled out. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them :D


	5. Chapter 4

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry this took so long, but it was a mixture of graduation, holidays and a virus that knocked out my PC, that made this take more time than I imagined... Once again I'm so sorry.

Oka I got a question in reviews I wanted to answer :D

Elise.v

-I had already planned for this chapter to be from Merlin's pov, so I hope it satisfy you :D

And thank you everyone else who have reviewed -Imagine a heart for for some reason the doc won't accept it xD-

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Chapter 4

It had been a long night, and the banquet had been a blast. A lot of the participants just wanted to sleep for days, but not everyone had that luxury. Merlin was one of them. He had to be up early, so he could get his chores done and help the prince, but of cause he overslept. Again. Even Gaius was starting to give up on the boy, since he could rarely wake Merlin, in the mornings.

When Merlin finally woke up, by himself, and saw where the sun was in the sky, he jumped out of bed and hurriedly put his normal clothes on. Brown breaches, a red shirt, brown jacket and his blue neckerchief. He ran out of his door, not noticing Gaius' scolding gaze, as he ran down to the kitchens, where the prince's lunch would be waiting. He really hoped that another servant had brought Arthur breakfast, otherwise he would be in a bad mood. Everytime Merlin was late or Arthur didn't get breakfast, Arthur would be in a bad mood and for some reason, it was always Merlin's fault. In his hurry he didn't pay attention to his surroundings, and he tripped over a piece of cloth, lying on the floor. He looked down and saw the prince's white shirt, and Merlin wondered where it came from. He picked it up, and saw there was a red patch on the right elbow.

A practice wound perhaps? Arthur should be done with training about now, so it could be possible, and maybe he had dropped the shirt on his way to his chambers. Merlin looked down through the corridor, maybe expecting to see Arthur or something, but the corridor was deserted. Something felt off, like there was something important he had forgotten.

Merlin shrugged, deciding to think of it later, when he had brought the prince his lunch, before he turned towards the kitchens again. He could smell the food even before he arrived, and as he stepped inside he was pulled into the activity in the room. He hurried over and got the prince's food, hoping not to be seen by the kitchen maids or worse, the cook. No such luck.

"Where have you been? I had to send one of the kitchen maids up to give the prince his breakfast, which is YOUR job. I can't afford to send of the kitchen maids, because you can't do your job." Merlin looked around and realized that the kitchen was a lot more hectic than normal.

"Why are you all looking stressed?"

"Because the visiting nobles need food as well," she called over her shoulder on her way back to a maid, who had done something wrong. Then it hit Merlin. The visiting nobles, that's what he had forgotten. Arthur weren't supposed to train with the knights this week. He looked down at Arthur's shirt, before running out of the kitchen, only remembering the food in the doorway.

As he hurried to the prince's chambers, he ran into one of lord Wolfric's servants.

"You are the prince's manservant, right? Lord Wolfric, wants to know why the prince hasn't arrived for the peace talks yet." The servant said, sounding bored, as if he had something better to do.

"I cannot tell you, since I don't know myself, now will you excuse me." Merlin sat into run down the hall, and didn't see Michael's smirk, before he turned around and walked back to his master with the news.

Merlin ran through the hallways as fast as he could, and almost ran into other servants and guards a couple times. He had no idea how he didn't drop the plate or the food on it, but he suspected his magic might have something to do with it. He didn't worry about it though. Something felt wrong, and Arthur's absence wasn't a good sign. He ran through the doors of the prince's chambers, and the room was very gloomy. The curtains in front of the windows were still closed, only letting a little bit of light inside the room. Merlin looked over to the bed, but the curtains were also closed there, so he couldn't see the prince.

"Rise and shine," Merlin called loudly as he hurried over to the windows and opened the curtains, letting the sun into the room, but there was no reaction from the bed. "Up and at'em," Merlin tried again a bit louder this time, and that's when he heard the sheets was being moved. "Finally, it is over noon and lord Wolfric is waiting," Merlin told him as he walked over to the wardrobe and picked out the prince's clothes, but there was no reply from the prince.

"Come on Arthur you need to get up," Merlin told him as he moved over to the bed and opened the curtains.

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please reviews make my day ^^

This work is still in progress, so any ideas are welcome :D


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